God has never exactly been a stranger to popular music. But there are certain genres from which His presence has been notably absent – and garage punk is one of them. The Knights of the New Crusade have set out to remedy this omission: their debut album My God Is Alive! Sorry About Yours (Songs In Praise Of Our Lord God And In Condemnation Of Sin) blends dissonant garage rock with fervent religious zeal. Anyone who scans their website (www.crusadenow.com) may begin to suspect that the Christian devotion of the Knights is not entirely lacking in guile. Still, there’s no denying the thunderous momentum of songs like ‘Whore Of Babylon’ and ‘E Is For Evil’.
Their first Irish gig could not be faulted on spiritual grounds. The Knights brought their crusade to the audience shortly after midnight. Watching them troop on stage in chain-mail vests and helmets, we had cause to believe this would be a show above the usual standard. In light of which, it feels almost churlish to criticise the Knights on a musical basis – the helmets, after all, should be fair warning to anyone expecting a Kid A-style breakthrough for rock. Still, it has to be said, they come across better on record than live. Most of the pleasure with the Knights comes from the contrast between the po-faced lyrics and the noisy, decadent tunes that accompany them.
But, when you are barely able to make out the words of the chorus, never mind the rest of the song, you can’t help but suspect this is a standard-issue punk band that happens to be wearing chain-mail.
Still, the Knights of the New Crusade are better value – and less predictable – than most guitar bands. We can only wish godspeed to their forthcoming opus Knight Beat: a challenge to the cowards of Christendom.